CHAPTER TWELVE
Gareth stood in his chamber, looking out the window at the breaking light of dawn as it rose over King’s Court, watching the masses gather below—and felt sick to his stomach. On the horizon was his worst fear, the very picture of what he dreaded most: the king’s army returning, victorious, triumphant from its clash with the McClouds. Kendrick and Thor rode at its head, free, alive—heroes. His spies had already informed him of everything that had happened, that Thor had survived the ambush, that he was alive and well. Now these men were all emboldened, returning to King’s Court as a solidified force. All his plans had gone terribly awry and left a pit in his stomach. He felt the kingdom closing in on him.
Gareth heard a creaking noise in his room, and he spun and shut his e
